Report: Ohio Colleges To See Enrollment Drop

Universities in Ohio are changing how they recruit students and rethinking their approaches amid predictions that the number of public high school graduates in the state will continue to drop over the next decade.

Ohio's public colleges and universities posted an enrollment drop of 6 percent last fall, and numbers at independent, nonprofit colleges were down for the first time in 25 years.

The biggest concern is over population shifts that will leave Ohio with fewer high school graduates.

The U.S. Department of Education estimates that the number of public high school graduates in Ohio will by about 18 percent between 2008 and 2021. The Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education predicts the drop will be 9 percent.